In 2022 there will be 121 documented attacks on refugee homes in Germany. That is around 50 more than in the previous year. Refugees are also victims of attacks outside of shelters every day. Their number is increasing, among other things, due to the Ukraine war.
The number of attacks on homes for asylum seekers in Germany has increased significantly in the past year. There were 121 attacks on refugee accommodation, reports the “Osnabrücker Zeitung”, citing figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This is an increase of 73 percent compared to 2021, when there were 70 such crimes. The crimes were mostly right-wing motivated.
It was the first time since 2015 that the number of attacks increased. According to the report, the reasons for this are the expiry of the Corona requirements and the increased number of refugees. In 2022, almost 218,000 asylum seekers came to Germany – as many as last in 2016. There were also almost a million Ukrainians.
According to the ministry, the authorities recorded an additional 1,248 attacks against asylum seekers or refugees outside of accommodation last year. That was about as many as in 2021 with 1259 cases. Every day three asylum seekers are victims of attacks in Germany.
Despite the significant increase, the attacks on refugee accommodation are still far from the peak at the time of the 2015 refugee crisis. At that time, 1047 attacks against asylum seekers’ accommodation were recorded.
The Ministry of the Interior presented the figures after a small request from the left-wing faction. Their flight policy expert Clara Bünger was alarmed by the increase in attacks. “Refugees who are looking for safety and protection here are terrified.” Bünger recalled the violent riots in 1992 in Rostock-Lichtenhagen, when a mob of right-wing extremists and rioters tried for days to storm the accommodations of foreigners to the applause of onlookers. “Do we want to wait until Rostock-Lichtenhagen repeats itself?” asked the left-wing politician.
